Friday, July 24, 2015

This
reading had two occasions to celebrate, Eid al-Fitr, and Thommo's
impending departure to Istanbul to begin a 40-country drive around
the world in his Hyundai i20. We celebrated the breaking of
the fast with semia payasam and shammi kabab brought by
Zakia. And ordered up namkeen, tea and coffee from
the CYC kitchen for Thommo's journey –
he'll be leaving on Aug 2.

Zakia, Priya, Thommo

The
novel was all about buttling, and we were regaled with tales of
butlers who had survived the most extreme of
circumstances
without losing their aplomb. Stevens in the present novel is a
particularly
anal variety of the tribe. When
Joe used that word Thommo remarked there was a Bengali babu in his
office in Calcutta named অনল,
pronounced 'onol', who unfortunately spelled his name in English,
Anal.

Preeti & Pamela

Philosophically
this novel propounds the tale of one who habitually subordinates his
life's ambitions and goals to those of his master. Call it servility
in one sense, but it is the kind of supreme sacrifice of the ego
through which saints reach their goal by denying the self on the
altar of a higher good. The tragedy of Stevens the butler is that
his master ultimately fails, but not on
account of any lack of effort on Stevens' part.

Thommo, Preeti, Pamela, Joe

There's
also an abortive romance that denies Stevens the one chance he had of
rounding out the evening of his life, when nothing remains of the day.
In the film version it is with Mrs Benn (Emma Thompson) that Stevens
(Anthony Hopkins) silently sheds a tear in parting.